Tag: growth

On Goals and Motivation: The beautiful thing about goals is that you can always achieve them and make new ones, the possibilities are endless, and you have a lifetime to keep going. When I was a kid, I read this book about this really old man who decided to go to school and teach himself how to read. It was really inspiring. He could’ve decided to stay home and been embarrassed or made himself sick with worry on what others would think of him. I think a lot on our battle with these inner demons and realize that at the end of the day, our biggest challenge in any goal is overcoming our own mentality and insecurities. They could be something as apparent as being in a wheelchair or having a stutter, they could also be secrets of our past that we’ve buried deep but still influence our daily thought process, and seep into our choices and actions in life like poison.

Goals can be big or small.

My smaller goals lately have been mostly to aim at realism. I want to make goals I can achieve more immediately- cooking new kinds of food, learning a new language, focusing on building my mentality and body. All of these are goals as long as you chip at it each day and work towards it, they aren’t less valuable or successful than typical dreams like becoming rich or becoming a movie star. The hugest part of reshaping my mentality the past recent years was to becomes strong enough to go through the lung transplant evaluations that I knew were leading down to a path of not a maybe, but an eventually. I had many meltdowns at night and at the hospitals because the fear was always hanging over me, my anxiety became so bad I freaked out at the very idea of sitting in someone else’s car or trying to fall asleep. It felt like the world was weighing down on me when anyone even tried to make me talk about it: because I could get away with it sometimes, I wanted to shove the parts of me that was ill away and try to carry on looking fine and dandy and blend in with the “norm”. I was determined to live the life of a regular kid, to worry about friends, boys, and all the petty drama that came with it, handing my paper in on time, getting a job.

I need to take a moment now and appreciate myself and the fact that I went through that and got through it in 2017. I don’t often reflect on how far I come, I usually focus on what didn’t work out.

Recently, one of my goals was to go through Harry Potter World in a wheelchair for the first time, and not break down. Check. Huge win for me, even though it’s not the same as everyone clapping and cheering for you on stage or something like that.

When I think of this and all that I went through, I almost want to laugh at how petty everything else compares in life: when I get frustrated or disappointed with people, stressed over things I don’t have, and most of all, finding out how entitled and weird people are out there that you come across at your job. I remember being annoyed and complaining about it, but the truth was I felt happy. Happy that today, I got to be “normal” and complain about petty things like other people who don’t really matter in your life anyway. It’s just noise. Letting things get to you and affect you negatively is draining- you gotta choose what is important and worth being stressed over. This is something my dad has constantly reminded me growing up about not being too sensitive or upset over everything.

There are always going to be situations and people who suck. You can’t go through life only meeting nice and good people, never getting hurt – and I don’t mean just by strangers or acquaintances, but the people closest to you sometimes – yes, your friends, your family. But that’s how you learn and grow each time. Who other people are, what you can reasonably expect, how you can deal with the situation better, how you yourself can be better.

I had an epiphany recently, and that was the realization of just how low my self confidence has been. I always knew I was shy and reluctant to open up to others, but I was thinking about how I subconsciously approached my friendships I’ve had in a way as if they were not only valuable to me, but that I owed them the world for taking the pity and time to be my friend at all. As if I brought nothing to the friendship, and had to spend the rest of my life trying to prove that I am worthy of being a friend. I tried to be more extroverted, bubbly, happy, to smile and be more fun. To go out of my way when I could for them so they wouldn’t see my flaws. And when it didn’t work out with the friendship, it cut me deep. To the core. I would be resentful with them, disappointed that they must’ve seen that I didn’t measure up and was too much of a burden.

There is a difference between understanding who is precious in your life, but also understanding your self-worth and all that you contribute with your presence and actions. As from the movie “Wonder”, it’s okay if you were born to be different and to stand out. Embrace it. You are worthy of friendships, and as long as you try your best and care for them, they are lucky to have you.

True confidence comes from within. Today I came to the revelation about how regular people can walk 5-10 times more than I can at 2-5 times the speed and still don’t get tired…. how do you not feel fucking invincible?? I would. My second revelation… if you can feel at peace and accepting about yourself even as you sit in a wheelchair with no make up on as a bunch of people you know stare at you and question you, then you’re still fucking invincible. (I haven’t reached this point of invincibility yet ._.;)

I used to think of a strong mind as a fortress, one that can protect itself from negativity, and barricade positive vibes within. But now I think of a strong mind more as a temple- why? Let the negativity enter, sit there even. And STILL be able to have your positive vibes rise up higher than all the noise- this is what constitutes a strong mind.

I’m very happy with the dishes I whipped up today for my family! It was much faster since I only focused on 3 dishes, and we ate it with shin ramen. I think the thing about Korean food that makes me happy is how colorful and playful it is with the variety of each small dish. I made:

-Steamed Egg with green onion

-Pickled Cucumber <– honestly could devour a giant bowl by myself

-Beef Pancakes

I’m only going to follow Maangchi’s Youtube recipes from now on… hers seem to work better.

I’m not really a fan of grating, shaving, or frying things because it’s annoying, so I try to avoid those. But today I tried coating my beef slices with flour and egg before pan frying it, and it was quite successful in my opinion! My parents enjoyed it, and you can tell it’s good when most of it’s finished by the end of the meal. I did remember to take a quick picture… here’s me with my game face on and my lucky Harry Potter shirt on, and then the actual dishes, topped with leftover bean sprout banchan from the day before:

Notes to self: need to do the steps more carefully for the beef pancakes, and coat with more flour so there’s a clearer egg casing on the outside, also try to slice the steak thinner.

“Many a king misunderstands or abuses his calling and ends up devouring the flock – and then he blames the sheep for the dwindling numbers.Such a leader solidifies his power by the use of fear and shame.The troops cower and obey, but they do not love the leader and they are not loyal to him.It is far more difficult to be a shepherd-king, one who must possess power and give it away until he serves as the balancing point of an inverted pyramid” (pg. 61)

“The leader will fail, so he needs to confess his anger, self-absorption, and cowardice and serve his people by being the first one who needs to be forgiven” (pg. 62)

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?How can you think of saying, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?Hypocrite!First get rid of the log from your own eye; then perhaps you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye” (pg. 71)

–>“A broken leader is a sweet paradox of confidence and openness.If those I lead have already found out the worst there is to know about me- then the log in my eye is continually being removed in the midst of every crisis. The result is better vision and greater wisdom due to the freedom I feel to both live and die” (pg. 75)

On Courage:

“…He must not merely cling to life, for then he will be a coward, and will not escape.He must not merely wait for death, for then he will be a suicide, and will not escape.He must seek his life in a spirit of furious indifference to it; he must desire life like water, and yet drink death like wine” … this is the foundation for true confidence.– G.K. Chesterton (pg. 74)

“If the church is really about spiritual relationships, then why are they so hard to keep together?”

—>”‘ What lens am I using to read reality?” (pg. 83)

Entire pg. 98 (not included here unfortunately)

^(Entire pg. 113)

“Groucho Marx wouldn’t want to be part of a club that would have him as a member” (pg. 116)

“Organizations are full of binds because there is not sufficient honesty between human beings to build caring, committed relationships.Instead, everyone figures out how to put on the right face.” (pg. 117)

^(pg 156)

“Most people want to grow, but the price of growth is pain… it is the way of growth and excellence:submission to pain through discipline is the only route to maturity” (pg. 194-195)

On Betrayal:

“Betrayal is a deep psychic wound that hardens the heart against grief and deadens is hunger for intimacy” (unknown)

I found this quote somewhere on tumblr a long time ago, I think it might’ve been said by Frank Ocean but don’t quote me on that. This particular thought always stayed with me with the way I interacted with people.

As a homeschooled child, I never realized how naive my expectations for other people in the world were. In a sense, I probably believed I was better than everyone else, in that I held myself to high moral standards, and my friend once told me that I was one of the few people she felt had such a moral compass who would never do the wrong thing or hurt someone. My college years, I learned two things: the full extent of my ability to hurt somebody I cared about (even unintentionally), and second of all, just how wrong the assumption that others hold the same beliefs, perceptions, or morals you do is.

I entered college beginning to experiment so that I could find my sense of self, both on a personality and aesthetic level- I made mild changes such as growing my hair long, got it ombre’d, began wearing some make up, piercing my ears, paying attention to the way I dressed more and how I carried myself. It was such a sense of vulnerable freedom, to spread your wings out yet knowing that the immediate safety net of your parents weren’t beneath if you fell. I tried to reinvent myself for the better- the cooler, more confident version of me. To my disbelief, I was not quite a wallflower anymore, and even though I was still really shy, I forced myself to try to venture out my shell, and realized people not only seemed to notice me, but liked me.

However, my confidence was still in a budding phase, and the few people I felt a click with, I attached myself to quickly; I saw only their great qualities when they showed me a small act of kindness, and without realizing it, I subconsciously put them on a pedestal. And then the first time they broke my trust or let me down, I felt myself spiraling downhill. I wasn’t sure why my sense of other people’s emotions were so heightened, and oftentimes I can’t fall asleep at night being overwhelmed by all the problems that exist everywhere: I wish I could turn it off.

The intensity of my personality has given me the ability to observe and for the most part, see each individual clearly for both their flaws, potential, and beauty. Everyone possesses both “good” and “bad” qualities, and these traits are what make them unique. I grew up seeing the world in black and white, but now I see that many things fall in the gray. Things don’t always work out in life, and we might end up becoming lessons in other people’s stories, but that doesn’t mean we should stop striving to be blessings.

As for ourselves, once we realize not everyone around us think on the same wavelength, we can reach a better understanding and be more tolerant and take things less personally. If someone wrongs you, they are simply a lesson; move on, and cherish the ones who are blessings.

Do you ever react to a situation differently depending on your mood?I think we all do.A part of it may be an innate, so deeply ingrained part of us that can’t be changed.At some point though, I wondered if I might even be bipolar.What I’ve concluded is that everyone has multiple facets to their personality.What is the real me?Does anyone know?Most people who think they know me might only have met the predominant me, or the stereotyped quiet Asian girl who has been trying to find her voice all these years, and still is.

When I was younger, I feared nothing.Throw me in the deep end of the pool- I didn’t know what drowning was, so I had full confidence I would float and make it to the top.Tell me to belt at the top of my lungs to strangers and introduce myself afterwards?Why not.Dare me to walk to the edge of a cliff and gaze down the world at my feet?Sure.Once upon a blue moon, I was fearless.

At some point, things changed.Self-doubt had me wrapped around its fingertips.I became a slave and puppet to the moods of others.The obstacles leered over me, laughing at me as I became imprisoned in their shadows.Over time, I withdrew into myself and people knew me as the shy, obedient, and tiny girl who could be easily coerced into doing their bidding, or who would stay silent to their mockery.It was hard to make friends, but I had all these feelings bottled up inside, frustration mostly.Multiple circumstances in my upbringing, household, and life molded me into someone I did not like.

If you caught me at a certain phase though, you would have met a different side of me.Maybe it was the frustration spilling over, lighting a fire to my being.Quell your voice.Humble yourself.Respect your elders and adult authorities.

Jasmine, why don’t you have any friends?

The journey I’ve made is mine, and maybe you do or don’t relate to it, but damn I’ve traveled a long way to where I am now.The challenges are not over, and yet I can resoundingly say I am proud of myself to still be here, existing.I am a survivor.It is vital to first survive and overcome your demons, so that you can really live.Maybe most of the time, it’s a struggle just to exist, to be.But if there is a silver lining to all the pain and suffering you feel, it is that it will make the beautiful moments that much more beautiful. After some self-reflection, I divided myself into Five Identities (more in the future on the ID, Ego, and SuperEgo via Freud)

The Obvious Identity- Passive, Submissive, Quiet, Hardworking – who most people think is me… only recognizing the side of me who tends to be a pushover, likes classical music, smiles too much

The Fierce Vibrant ID- who likes orange hair, the sensual human body, admires bold and free-spirited women, colors, has a temper, has no time for BS, all kinds of music (yes, I like hip hop music sometimes, depends on the specific song, why is that so surprising… all genres can be incredible, including that genre)

The Dreamy Artsy ID- aspires to mix all kinds of art, loves photography, music

The Hateful, Depressed, Sick ID- consumed with negative thoughts, some worse than others. The devil voice that whispers and tells you to give up, what’s the point. Always tired and uncomfortable, grouchy, withdrawn, pessimistic, blames the world and everyone else (1/2)

The Overcheerful, Optimistic, Bubbly ID – super happy and excited all the time, wants joy to be spread to all corners of the earth, wants to save the world. (2/2)

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About Me

I like red pandas and the color orange. This is my stage jolting down thoughts about social and cultural issues, which include chronic illness, physical and mental health, the environment, feminism, race relations. Some in-between personal journaling.
Just wandering around trying to find my niche in the world